Being part of the team and seeing the impact I can have - Update from Noor, Cyber Security Apprentice

During National Apprenticeship Week, we introduced you to Noor. Formally a Harris student herself, she is now our Cyber Security Apprentice, and an integral part of our Cyber Security Team. She's a couple of months into her apprenticeship so we sat down with her for an update on how it's going and what she's learnt so far.

 

 

How has your experience of working at Harris been?

I’ve learnt so much in the last 4 months. As this is my first job, I’ve learnt lots even just about the world of work and different things about working in an office, a hybrid working environment, and adapting my working style for the office compared to being at home. 

I’ve also got to know the people in my team a lot better too. I have a good idea what each of them do as well as a better understanding of the wider IT department. I’ve had some great opportunities to sit with them and assist on their projects which has been a really good learning experience. 

 

Now you've started your apprenticeship, how's it going?

It’s been really rewarding because everything I learn, I can literally come into work the next day and find a problem that I can solve using my new knowledge. It’s also been challenging at times as there is so much to learn but it’s been manageable. 

I’m finding a good balance between work and study so making sure that I allocate a study session when my energy levels are also highest but also when I am available. 

It’s helpful that as I’m studying with the Open University, they are operating online anyway (with a tutorial every quarter), and then I can just get on with the modules and completing the reading and the worksheets. Sometimes there are essays and research reports to submit as well, and I’ll be preparing for an exam-style assessment in August too. 

 

How are you balancing work and your apprenticeship?

I think by being really reflective is how I've made it work successfully. I’ve been keeping a reflection journal where I make a note of the feedback I’ve received from others, the short and long term implications, and what I would do differently next time. This has had a positive effect on both my learning and the practical side of my job, and brings them together in a nice way. 

 

What support are you getting?

I’ve made sure to be proactive with getting support from the rest of the team. Every couple of weeks, I have a catch up with my manager which is very open and I feel able to discuss anything with him. So if there is anything I am struggling with or something I need to discuss, it can go in that catch up. 

And then I asked Margaux in the team to be my mentor. We now have weekly mentoring sessions and she’s supporting me and showing me new opportunities like women in cyber events. 

The other member in the team is Kofi who is a Cyber Ops Analyst and I spend some time with him each week where he helps me to understand more about topics like alerts and phishing, as well as helping me to stay up to date with cyber news. 

That’s been the benefit of working in such a small team, I’ve been able to connect with each of them individually. 

Also, the Open University have been great as they have a dedicated apprenticeship team so if I have any issues with my studies, I can go to them for advice. 

 

Margaux and Noor

 

What are the top things you’ve learnt so far?

I think having a plan and being specific is something I’ve found to be really important. I recently wrote my first ever procedure and whenever I sat down to write it, I kept finding myself at a mental block. But I learned to plan ahead and break it down to make it easier. And then even simple things like making sure I only have the windows and tabs open that I need, and writing down what I need so I can focus. 

I’ve also loved my mentoring catch ups and I’ve learnt that that’s my time and I need to take ownership of that. I really value being able to talk things through in those catch ups. 

 

What have been the highlights so far?

My favourite moment so far was doing my first academy visit. I visited Harris Primary Academy Crystal Palace and got the opportunity to see exactly how my work impacts the students and staff in our academies. I also got to sit in some of the lessons and really appreciated the hard work that goes into keeping students engaged. Whilst I was there, I also received lots of positive feedback about the cyber security training from staff so had concrete evidence that my work has an impact on the wider Federation. 

I also gave my first presentation to the team about dealing with alerts and the investigation and response process on Microsoft Defender alerts. I was very nervous beforehand but it went really well and I got amazing feedback. It showed that I was confident dealing with alerts and now I am able to manage them. 

 

What are you most looking forward to in the coming months?

I signed up for mentoring at my Sixth Form and that’s going to be a regular thing so I’m excited to see which students I’ll be mentoring and how I can use my experience to inspire and help the young people. I had such a high quality education there and I know not every school is like that so I want to give back to a place that really helped me on my journey.